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After Alice Blog Tour and Review

After Alice by Grebory MaguirePublication date: July 5, 2016Publisher: William MorrowPaperback: 304 pagesSource: Publisher for an honest reviewFrom the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Wicked comes a magical new twist on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis’s Carroll’s beloved classic.

When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice’s disappearance?

In this brilliant work of fiction, Gregory Maguire turns his dazzling imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings—and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll’s enduring tale. Ada, a friend of Alice’s mentioned briefly in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is off to visit her friend, but arrives a moment too late—and tumbles down the rabbit-hole herself.

Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and see her safely home from this surreal world below the world. If Eurydice can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life. Either way, everything that happens next is “After Alice.”

My Take:

After Alice by Gregory Maguire is as clever, playful, and thought provoking as I expected. Why would anyone want to read about Alice's friend Ada, though? Well, I didn't know either, but it turns out that Ada was actually a smart and charming young girl - once she figured that out herself.

Ada is not Alice - she is not a beautiful, blond little girl who "goes off with the fairies" - Ada lacks grace and beauty and maybe even imagination. But Ada is quite smart and practical. Ada's household is in an uproar because of her new baby brother - of whom she is not quite sure she approves. The baby is always crying, her mother has not recovered from the birth and her father is unwilling to engage with the family. Miss Armstrong, the not-really-capable nanny is unhappy and irritated by Ada and her place in the household and society as a whole.

Ada is sent to play with Alice who has managed to get lost - again. In After Alice, Alice seems like a flighty little thing who often goes missing. Ada, on the other hand, is plodding and clumsy and despite this, goes in search of her only friend, Alice. At first, it appears that Ada will follow Alice and simply retell the same story - but, instead, Ada's own perspective of her adventure gives the whole place and all the characters a different and, maybe needed, shift in the storytelling.

Alongside Ada's adventures, the reader gets to learn about Alice's sister Lydia and Miss Armstrong as they search for the missing girls. There is much discussion of both girls and the social situations of the women in society, as well as political and ethical issues, including slavery.

There is much going for After Alice - the words - oh the words! There is the playfulness and cleverness that one would expect, of course. And I actually appreciated the story line involving the 'real' world - with all the social commentary about issues of the time. And Ada - Ada is quite an interesting girl.

I wish I had had the time to read After Alice along with Alice in Wonderland, because I think it would have been an even better experience. I am seriously considering adding After Alice to my kids' reading list - right after Alice in Wonderland. I think that After Alice will appeal to lovers of Alice in Wonderland (naturally), as well as those readers who enjoy analyzing literature and like to read clever, playful, and fun novels.

About Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister; Lost; Mirror Mirror; and the Wicked Years, a series that includesWicked, Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. Now a beloved classic, Wicked is the basis for a blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Curly-haired brunettes with blue eyes are the only women that seem to capture Keith’s attention. But is it really their appearance that attracts him or something sinister? Keith, a broken soul, who’s battling between good and evil, goes about his days trying to fight his evil urges. But because of a demonic stronghold, in most instances good loses the battle to evil.

Affected by the pain and hurt of his childhood, he now seeks out the love he didn’t receive as a child. But when he doesn’t get it, there’s retribution to pay…and what a sad day it is for those curly-haired brunettes with blue eyes who fail to make the mark. But things take a turn when he meets a grocery store cashier who has the ability to see evil th…

I am happy to participate in the blog tour for the new book by James MacManus, Sleep in Peace Tonight. I previously reviewed his book Black Venus and quite enjoyed it. Please enjoy the excerpt.

Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManusPublication date: October 7, 2014 by Thomas Dunne BooksDescription:It’s January 1941, and
the Blitz is devastating England. Food supplies are low, Tube stations
in London have become bomb shelters, and U-boats have hampered any hope
of easy victory. Though the United States maintains its isolationist
position, Churchill knows that England is finished without the aid of
its powerful ally.

Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt’s most
trusted adviser, is sent to London as his emissary, and there he falls
under the spell of Churchill’s commanding rhetoric---and legendary
drinking habits. As he experiences life in a country under attack,
Hopkins questions the United States’ silence in the war. But back home
FDR is paranoid about the isolationist lobby, an…

A Drama in Muslin by George Moorebought from Kennys BookshopSummary from Goodreads: A reprint of the first edition written in the 1880s, this is generally considered to be the best version of one of Moore's greatest books. Set in Ireland in the 1880s against a backdrop of Land League troubles in Co. Mayo, and in Dublin, where the social life revolves around the Vice-Regal court in Dublin Castle, this depicts the efforts of a mother trying to catch socially suitable husbands for her daughters, and chronicles the results. My Take: This was an interesting book for a number of reasons. I like Irish history and the book takes place in the 1880's in western Ireland during the activities of the Land League, so there is the historical aspect to it. But the most interesting thing was the picture it painted of the lives of five girls born into the gentry of the West of Ireland. They had been sent to a girls school for much of their lives and when they were of age, they had to join society…

I am a wife and home schooling mother of three with a degree in English Literature and a huge appetite for reading. I read most types of books, but I am particularly fond of Victorian fiction, urban fantasy, some YA, sci fi, historical fiction, and the list could go on.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all of the books I review are either purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

When a review copy has been received from an author, publisher or company, it is in exchange for a fair review and has no effect on my opinion of the book. There is no monetary compensation for reviews. All reviews are my own personal reaction to and opinion of the book.

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